Andrea

“And, in this staunch little portrait, it’s hard not to see the human in the finch. Dignified, vulnerable. One prisoner looking at another. But who knows what Fabritius intended? There’s not enough of his work left to even make a guess. The bird looks out at us. It’s not idealized or humanized. It’s very much a bird. Watchful, resigned. There’s no moral or story. There’s no resolution. There’s only a double abyss: between painter and imprisoned bird; between the record he left of the bird and our experience of it, centuries later.”
― Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

“Transitions are bumpy, even the happy ones. We all go through them at some point. It takes time to adjust. Often, we feel like we should be much farther ahead than we are—unless we remember that “bare kernels” are always sown in weakness. It’s not bad to have your identity change. God promises that if we trust Him, He will replant us to reap eternal rewards.”
― Carolyn McCulley, The Measure of Success: Uncovering the Biblical Perspective on Women, Work, and the Home

“All of Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the Gospels can be summarized with one word: ask.”
― Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World

“Youth hasn’t got anything to do with chronological age. It’s times of hope and happiness.”
― Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety